This show will be the "Downfall" of us all

Tuesday evening I was looking for something to watch as I wound down (winded?) for the night. I remembered earlier in the day hearing a local DJ interviewing the host of a new game show on ABC called “Downfall” – and that host was none other than Professional Wrestling Superst-ar/Entertainment Mogul/Canadian Export Chris Jericho.

Obviously I had to check it out, but unfortunately I missed the first half of the show. When I finally tuned in I was in for quite a shock. Here’s the lowdown:

Contestants dressed in ridiculous tan jumpsuits are strapped to a bungee cord on the top of a ten-story building. Super-host Jericho asks them trivia questions in certain categories that they have to answer as quick as possible. The reason for the rapid responses is because the prizes are on a conveyor belt that sends them off the top of the building if the questions aren’t answered soon enough. Eventually they can win money if they continue to answer correctly, but once they run out of chances, they are lifted over the edge of the building and bungeed to the ground below.

I was immediately appalled as I watched a washer, dryer and dining room set plummet to their eminent destruction. How in the world could a network television show promote this kind of waste in such a poor economy? My wife and I would kill for a new washer and dryer, and I just watched some jackass throw it off the roof of a building.

Could you make us feel any worse about our lives right now ABC? Please?

After watching a recap I realized they state at the beginning of the show that the prizes they’re demolishing are replicas… but honestly, that didn’t make me feel any better about this garbage. I looked for some reaction to the show on the Interweb and the few reviews I found made no mention of the prizes being replicas – which tells me that viewers either didn’t know and they’re disgusted with the idea or they did know and they’re STILL disgusted with the idea.

I suppose the appeal is that people like to watch stuff break… which I guess is ok every once in a while, but piggybacking an entire series on the premise is a bit absurd if you ask me. Before I realized the prizes were replicas I was convinced that this was one of the worst pieces of television I’d ever seen. Now, I’ll just say it was terrible.

Not even the star power of Chris Jericho could save it.

I do love this song though... not that it has anything to do with this trainwreck of a game show.



Come say hi at 4 p.m. for The Ride.